Product failure in the field, or in the customer's office, is usually one of the costliest events that a manufacturer has to manage. Conventional methods rely on various quality control techniques in an attempt to minimize the occurrence of such undesirable events. One common approach is to identify all parts that comprise a product and enumerate all possible failure modes that can be ascribed to those parts. This approach leads to extensive evaluation of myriad parts that may minimally be related to the actual undesirable event. As a result, a disproportionately high level of resources are directed towards a seemingly limited number of causes that are responsible for the failure of a few part(s), and hence that of the product. A need exists, therefore, for a method that adequately directs, or, focuses, engineering or management resources on those parts that have a high risk of failing, and for prioritizing the risks.